Best Rail Shooters

[Air Master Burst]

Ex-Zodiac is a very promising OG Starfox tribute, still in early access on Steam but still actively developed and worth the 10 bucks as-is. I guess it was a successful kickstarter a few years back. Good stuff so far!

Anyone try Top Nep yet? I might just throw 5 bucks at it because why not? Actual sprite scaling is rare in this day and age.

No love for Revolution-X?

Really?

Revolution-X is absolutely hideous, the music sucks, and there's no real enemy variety; but you're right that there's a ton of replay value. Like, it's ok for a mounted gun rail shooter, but those are strictly second-tier games anyway. The only ones that are really worth a shit are Gunblade NY and LA Machineguns, but those at least have the advantage of 3D graphics.

[MJR]

Ex-Zodiac is a very promising OG Starfox tribute, still in early access on Steam but still actively developed and worth the 10 bucks as-is. I guess it was a successful kickstarter a few years back. Good stuff so far!

Anyone try Top Nep yet? I might just throw 5 bucks at it because why not? Actual sprite scaling is rare in this day and age.

No love for Revolution-X?

Really?

Revolution-X is absolutely hideous, the music sucks, and there's no real enemy variety; but you're right that there's a ton of replay value. Like, it's ok for a mounted gun rail shooter, but those are strictly second-tier games anyway. The only ones that are really worth a shit are Gunblade NY and LA Machineguns, but those at least have the advantage of 3D graphics.

Well that's an opinion, and I couldn't disagree with you more. But let's leave it at that because there is no accounting for taste.

[orange808]

I'm surprised that Battle Clash didn't get a mention here. I always thought using the Super Scope for long periods of time was exhausting, but the game is quite fun.

[xxx1993]

The Time Crisis franchise, Lethal Enforcers, Virtua Cop, Police 911, Confidential Mission, Locked'n Loaded...

[Air Master Burst]

See and when I think rail shooter I don't think light gun game, I think of stuff like Panzer Dragoon or Space Harrier; although I guess technically those are on less of a rail than a light gun game.

[Sima Tuna]

I'm the same way. I get it, these are small subgenres. They are so small, in fact, that it's reasonable to conflate, say, light gun games with third-person rail shooters. But I do feel there is some small difference in design between the two.

One major difference is your character (hurtbox) occupies a position on the screen. So you are able to move left and right, sometimes up and down, to avoid damage. That dance of movement is a big part of what I personally like about rail shooters. The environment scrolls towards you and you have to steer around whatever is coming. When I have played Light Gun games, I didn't experience that. I know some have cover mechanics? Or something like them? Where you can duck behind cover with a button to avoid being hurt. But when the challenge primarily comes from shooting down enemy projectiles/enemy damage sources more than being able to avoid them, that's not what I personally like to do.

That said, I think it's fair to conflate rail shooters, cabal-likes and light gun games into a single umbrella subgenre because of how tiny each individual grouping is. I mean, if you ask for rail shooter recommendations, you're going to hear the same 3-5 games named over and over (Star Fox, Rez, Sin and Punishment). If you ask for cabal-likes other than cabal, you'll hear Wild Guns and 'Nam almost instantly. Light gun games? Time Crisis, House of the Dead and Virtua Cop.

If you ask for the best rpgs, platformers or metroidvanias (normie genres,) then you'll be inundated with hundreds of recommendations.

My favorite rail shooter is probably Star Fox 64. I'm a boring person. I like all the evasive moves you can do and the presentation (story) is enjoyable. It doesn't get in the way of the gameplay, but I can still laugh at Slippy's incompetence or the random bad guy blabbering insults. It features the typical high production quality old Nintendo is known for. Panzer Dragoon Orta is a beautiful game but it felt too slow-paced in spots. Although my memories are hazy.

[Air Master Burst]

Light gun games? Time Crisis, House of the Dead and Virtua Cop.

You must not play light gun games; I have dozens in my collection and it's hardly exhaustive. You're also forgetting how popular shit like Big Buck Hunter is.

[XoPachi]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0FK9UpMM_08

[Sima Tuna]

Does anyone have links to 1cc guides, videos or strategy discussion for rail shooters, light gun games or cabal-likes? I know Mark has a couple of Star Fox videos. I can't think of many others. I assume that Rez probably has some resources out there as well. I'm specifically thinking of Wild Guns Reloaded, which I haven't found any 1cc info for. But any rail shooter tech would be nice to see. LordBBH has some 1cc videos of Space Harrier and I think Thunder Blade, as part of his 1ccbbh series and also 1cc marathons he's done with RGLtv and other speedrun/marathon events. Occasionally Mark's Shmup Slams will have a run of a rail shooter in there, like Night Striker or Sin and Punishment.

I can dig up the links to post here later eventually if nobody else does. I have a sneaking suspicion most of the links I'll be able to find will be from LordBBH or RGLtv.

Mark MSX Star Fox 1cc:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y-6rD3ELUuk

Mark MSX Sin and Punishment 1cc Guide:

https://youtu.be/qTclPNrbR80

LordBBH Space Harrier Coin-Op Classic Marathon:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wbqXIWiz6_c

LordBBH Thunder Blade 1cc:

https://youtu.be/rKDfD6Ewmvg

PeteDorr Retrothon showcase of REZ!:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Im8ynHYf6sw

The hilarious Panzer Dragoon Mini, again with PeteDorr:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g6zQETYwg8Y

Galaxy Force II with Chinopolis, hopefully I can find a version with commentary eventually:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1I2r1VRwu0Y

Night Striker Retrothon with Dumplechan:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ghMm2T71ig

Dimension Tripper Top Nep! 1cc from Giodyne:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BEr2kJZZVdk

Star Fox 2 Turbo Mode (performance upgrade via MISTer) 1cc by Aquas:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s0aNVvi8MJQ

Air Twister Hard Mode Arcade 1cc by G.M.M. (again no commentary, sadly):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-B3-9076WIs

Ex-Zodiac 1cc as of 2022, by Giodyne:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f1afp2vEdy4

[BIL]

I'm specifically thinking of Wild Guns Reloaded, which I haven't found any 1cc info for.

I remember Roo posting some really good writeups, especially on my favourite Shatterhand reference Bullet; here's his Hard Annie 1LC for now. Great game! Quite a bit tougher the SFC original, which is intense but more easily suppressed due to its smaller playfield. WGR Hard is pretty much cab-ready, from what I recall. (been a while... and here I am waiting on Neo Kage of the Ninja)

<3 this thread. I see Yu Suzuki's mobile Panzer Harrier thingy is up on JPSN now. I can't remember its name for the life of me, I know it's been discussed here before, though. Dammit! Looks neat, brought back fond memories of Orta. No cool dragon though. EDIT: Aha, Air Twister.

[Sima Tuna]

I'm specifically thinking of Wild Guns Reloaded, which I haven't found any 1cc info for.

I remember Roo posting some really good writeups, especially on my favourite Shatterhand reference Bullet; here's his Hard Annie 1LC for now. Great game! Quite a bit tougher the SFC original, which is intense but more easily suppressed due to its smaller playfield. WGR Hard is pretty much cab-ready, from what I recall. (been a while... and here I am waiting on Neo Kage of the Ninja)

<3 this thread. I see Yu Suzuki's mobile Panzer Harrier thingy is up on JPSN now. I can't remember its name for the life of me, I know it's been discussed here before, though. Dammit! Looks neat, brought back fond memories of Orta.

Thanks BIL, you're always clutch with the links. The only strategy videos I could find of Wild Guns on youtube were from big channels. The only one of those I trust being Iconoclast.

The trick to getting truly good at Wild Guns is to learn not to use the dodge roll except in emergencies. Sure, you're invulnerable when rolling, but there's a recovery period at the end of the roll where you can be hit which is very dangerous.

I did pick up on this. Almost all of my deaths in Wild Guns so far have been a result of dodge rolling out of one attack and into another. The cooldown on the dodge roll is a killer. Jump seems way safer, especially since it cancels into a double jump you can use (like in Super GnG) to save yourself.

[BIL]

In the original where it's just Clint and Annie, I always use the latter for pretty much that reason. ^__^ Her shorter dive-roll works like a good jab shoryuken, nice n' precise and won't see you tumble straight into heavy artillery.

Both the original and Reloaded are masterclasses of doublejump and i-frame design; generous, flexible, but always at a price. You can pull off some absolutely hair-raising escapes, but there's never a sense of autopilot. And you've always got an instant BOMBAAA for when you're truly cornered. As with so many great games, knowing when to hit the nuke is a skill in itself.

EDIT: Aha, here we go. Roo's character overview.

[Sima Tuna]

EDIT: Aha, here we go. Roo's character overview.

Thanks so much, man!

On the rail shooter front, Missile Dancer II is looking alright.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iTTgPKYpZTg

Definitely seems Afterburner-inspired. Not sure if Terarin is going to do the whole "bad graphics for Steam, good graphics for Switch" gimmick again, but I'd be happy with the visuals shown here regardless whether or not they get upgraded later on.

[BareKnuckleRoo]

I remember Roo posting some really good writeups

They still can't compare to some of your detailed writeups. <3 You know it never clicked to me that Bullet's helper drone design and being lifted up by it to hover were deliberate Shatterhand references (I rarely remember using the floating in it) and I'm ashamed I missed them!

I found most of the additional difficulty in Reloaded came not from the extra playfield size, but rather the fact that the new levels have some fairly tough enemies you have to learn with some gimmicks not found in the original, and also that the Vulcan cannon's duration has been significantly shortened, so you can't quite blaze through entire encounters once it's triggered. It's still usually capable of ending boss fights before the timer & invulnerability run dry, and there's lots of encounters deliberately designed to allow for shooting enemy bullets to milk Vulcan (such as the miniboss turret before the final boss). The new Laser weapon also has a massive hitbox that makes even accidental bullet cancelling really easy!

I do sometimes wish the ? icon wouldn't give you a pop gun at a bad time, but really you basically never get stuck with two pop guns in a row, and pop guns can still be used to cancel bullets, so it's an opportunity to learn to be aggressive about building Vulcan meter up.

Jump seems way safer, especially since it cancels into a double jump you can use (like in Super GnG) to save yourself.

Yeah, it's a great evasion tool for sure! And if not playing a "standard" character, Bullet's second jump can be held to cancel into a hover which travels slow enough it's not totally safe, and Doris has that wildly overpowered air to ground jump attack.

[Sima Tuna]

I want to mention a game that had its own thread on this forum briefly: Bot Vice.

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=61115

I picked this up for $2 and I must say, it is surprisingly high-quality. The density of enemy and firing patterns, the silky-smooth control over your own character, and just how good the game feels to play should be commended. The game is brutally hard too. Unless you are a god gamer, you will get bodied pretty much from the very first level.

In gameplay, it's somewhere between cabal-like and light gun. You can take cover like in a Light Gun game, but you move freely and have a dodge roll like Wild Guns. You can slash enemies that get too close, as in Sin and Punishment. The game doesn't use free aim. Instead, you can either fire straight forward or hit a button to lock on to the nearest enemy. Some enemies are better taken with lock-on and others are easier to kill when firing forward. Your police gal feels incredibly fun to control. Your default pea shooter fires fast, the dodge roll has generous i-frames and everything explodes real nice.

I think BIL in particular would enjoy this game, given his penchant for a) difficult games and b) EXTREME CARNAGE.



As the other thread says, very little discussion of this game is to be found online anywhere.

I did find this non-english speedrun of the game, so if you're interested, check out the MASSIVE EXPLOSIONS here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mg28feGsyPM

My only major criticism of the game is I don't see a pure arcade mode. You have to select on level-by-level basis.

[BareKnuckleRoo]

This looks really cool! I love the little warning indicator and suddenly I'M A TRAIN comes smashing through. Brutal. :V

[BIL]

I think BIL in particular would enjoy this game, given his penchant for a) difficult games and b) EXTREME CARNAGE.

Ah man, you're so right. I've always thought this looked so good (someone made a thread for it here back at announce). Only reason I've not played it is my being stubbornly PS4/5 only for now (not even those back then, before TNWOA twisted me arm!).

[Sima Tuna]

Has anyone played Burning Force? It looks pretty dope. I know BIL played Thunder Ceptor I and II.

I think BIL in particular would enjoy this game, given his penchant for a) difficult games and b) EXTREME CARNAGE.

Ah man, you're so right. I've always thought this looked so good (someone made a thread for it here back at announce). Only reason I've not played it is my being stubbornly PS4/5 only for now (not even those back then, before TNWOA twisted me arm!).

I totally thought Bot Vice was on ps4 for some reason. Guess it's only switch and pc? I couldn't even find a wiki page listing all its releases. The game is super unknown.

[BEAMLORD]

Bot Vice.

Heads up for anyone who has a Switch - just checked the e-shop (UK), and its currently on sale for £1.99 down from £9.99. Looks damn cool, I'm gonna nab it.

[velo]

Has anyone played Burning Force? It looks pretty dope. I know BIL played Thunder Ceptor I and II.

I've been dabbling with it since it hit AA and my main thoughts were 1) weird that it doesn't have analog movement 2) it's really really hard: chaotic, tons of different enemy types each with unique behavior. I'm dying with a full deck of missiles as often as not so maybe I haven't wrapped my brain around it, but level 2 is already a bit of a brick wall. Memorization of ramp/pickup item locations seems necessary, for me at least. Like a good number of other Namco games there's a helpful level select option.

Meanwhile I'm just dyin over here waiting for the Panzer Dragoon Zwei Remake.

I take it you liked the remake of the first one? I've played only the remake and I was wondering how much I missed.

I jumped on Air Twister. The actual game doesn't disappoint, but it's trapped under a mountain of awful mobile game UI and related nonsense. Yeah you can ignore all that, and the unlocks, and go straight to arcade mode, but I don't think there's even any kind of stage select or practice mode [EDIT: never mind, I am wrong], other than boss rush, or else I haven't found it. Shoot button is R2, can't be remapped, has no autofire... must be rough on the finger if that's an analog trigger on your device of choice. Such silly and needless problems for a great game to have. Maybe a patch will polish it up.

[Sima Tuna]

Speaking of hard games, the Sega Ages port of Space Harrier has an additional arrange mode called "Komainu Barrier." Two komainu statues/gods float next to you and create a shield which absorbs collision damage. It will break if it takes a bullet, however. So the barrier frees you from dodging Space Harrier's massive amount of screen chaff, and you only have to worry about running into bullets. The value of the shield to protect you from collisions is so great that you never want to use it to protect yourself from a bullet. If you do get hit by a bullet, you won't die immediately but will drop your shield... During which time, any collision with an object will kill you.

Maybe some might call the mode too easy, but I was able to get a lot further casually (without excessive credit feeding) by playing this mode.

[velo]

but I don't think there's even any kind of stage select or practice mode, other than boss rush, or else I haven't found it

Nevermind, there is one, but it's an unlock. Honestly I'm really enjoying the unlock process in the game. It lets you deactivate some of the upgrades for story mode, if things get too easy. Still, such yucky menus.

Speaking of hard games, the Sega Ages port of Space Harrier has an additional arrange mode called "Komainu Barrier." Two komainu statues/gods float next to you and create a shield which absorbs collision damage. It will break if it takes a bullet, however. So the barrier frees you from dodging Space Harrier's massive amount of screen chaff, and you only have to worry about running into bullets. The value of the shield to protect you from collisions is so great that you never want to use it to protect yourself from a bullet. If you do get hit by a bullet, you won't die immediately but will drop your shield... During which time, any collision with an object will kill you.

Maybe some might call the mode too easy, but I was able to get a lot further casually (without excessive credit feeding) by playing this mode.

I can 1cc Space Harrier on a good day and I found that mode to be well done. I think it does scoring a little different too. I didn't investigate the details but there might be something for even an experienced player to get some value out of. I think vanilla SH scoring is just blowing everything up and killing the bosses right before timeout for maximum odometer points.

M2 is always good with easy modes and alternate modes in general. The one for Sega Ages G-LOC is, for me, highly necessary.

[linko9]

Picked up S&P2 again recently after over a decade. This guy has by far the best scores on video, from 7 years ago:

https://www.youtube.com/@EAR3033

But only stages 0-6. Dropped a comment on his stage 6 video mentioning my burning desire to witness the missing coup de grace, and lo and behold, he just uploaded stage 7! Prayers really can be answered. Or at least youtube comments on 7 year old videos.

[xxx1993]

As much as I love S&P2, my biggest complaint is the length of the game.

[linko9]

I think of it as 8 of the best rail shooters ever made. The full game is fun to play for a 1CC, but for score it's all about individual stages. Huge respect to anyone with the mental fortitude/adderall to play the full game for score.

[xxx1993]

I know there's a stage select, but there's a downside. Playing the final stage only won't show you the end credits and even the scene after the credits, and if you simply continue where you left off, it'll just be the final phase of the final boss.

[guigui]

Picked up S&P2 again recently after over a decade. This guy has by far the best scores on video, from 7 years ago:

https://www.youtube.com/@EAR3033

But only stages 0-6. Dropped a comment on his stage 6 video mentioning my burning desire to witness the missing coup de grace, and lo and behold, he just uploaded stage 7! Prayers really can be answered. Or at least youtube comments on 7 year old videos.

Gosh, this guy knows what he is doing. God-level of milking a Treasure game here.

[m.sniffles.esq]

So, my Air Twister cart arrived, and it's fucking rad.
Fun to play, drugged visuals, Queen knock-off soundtrack to give the proceedings a 'Flash Gordon' suggestion. The kind of game that can be passed between me, my 16-year-old stoner nephew, and my 8-year-old niece and have everyone get something out of it.

[EmperorIng]

Question: these days, is there a preferred Xbox emulator that can run Panzer Dragoon Orta? I posted about it years ago - in this very thread! - but still haven't played it. There has to be some decent solution right?

Oh boy, looking at that old post about G Vector.... man, now there was a frustrating kusoge.

[Koa Zo]

Meanwhile I'm just dyin over here waiting for the Panzer Dragoon Zwei Remake.

I take it you liked the remake of the first one? I've played only the remake and I was wondering how much I missed.

I did very much enjoy the Panzer Dragoon remake on PS4. I had trouble controlling it well with the stock PS4 pad, then later enjoyed it thoroughly when I got a Nacon Revolution Pro controller. The team did a very good job with the remake. I have to guess Zwei has been repeatedly delayed as they're tuning for perfection.

I jumped on Air Twister. The actual game doesn't disappoint, but it's trapped under a mountain of awful mobile game UI and related nonsense. Yeah you can ignore all that, and the unlocks, and go straight to arcade mode, but I don't think there's even any kind of stage select or practice mode [EDIT: never mind, I am wrong], other than boss rush, or else I haven't found it. Shoot button is R2, can't be remapped, has no autofire... must be rough on the finger if that's an analog trigger on your device of choice. Such silly and needless problems for a great game to have. Maybe a patch will polish it up.

So, my Air Twister cart arrived, and it's fucking rad.
Fun to play, drugged visuals, Queen knock-off soundtrack to give the proceedings a 'Flash Gordon' suggestion. The kind of game that can be passed between me, my 16-year-old stoner nephew, and my 8-year-old niece and have everyone get something out of it.

Air Twister is one I just became aware of shortly before its physical release. I jumped on it too and ended up baffled by it. First by the Freddie Mercury-esque vocal BGM throughout the game, and then the weak pew pew pew shooting. There just isn't any ooomph to the weapon. Having to tap the shoulder button repeatedly just made it all annoying.
I really wanted to like it and went back to it after a few days hoping it would click, it didn't. The music is too over the top for me.